Republican Party plans Tampa ’12 convention

The Republican National Committee’s site-selection committee is expected to name Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday as site of the party’s 2012 convention, top Republicans tell POLITICO.

The site-selection committee is scheduled to announce a choice among three finalists: Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tampa. The committee has made high-publicity visits to the top prospects, which put on the dog to show what they could do for the GOP.

“It comes down to Florida being a key targeted state in the past several elections, and it’ll continue to be in future elections,” a top GOP operative said. “There’s a practical effect, in that it’ll bring a lot of attention and resources to a targeted state.”